The YES! National Student Writing Competition is an opportunity for middle school through university students to write for a real audience—not just you, the teacher—and the chance to be published by an award-winning magazine.

Each quarter, students are invited to read and write an essay on a selected YES! Magazine article. We divide contestants into four categories: middle school, high school, university, and Powerful Voice (for authors whose essays are powerful and passionate). Winning essays in each category are published on the YES! Magazine website and in our online education newsletter.

Life After Worry

This winter, students will read and respond to the YES! Magazine article “Life After Worry” by Akaya Windwood.

In this article, Akaya shares that worrying never changed the outcome of whatever she worried about. She discovers that when she replaces worry with trust she can be more present for her sister who has MS. And her friends, co-workers, and family find her more clear-headed, creative, and strong.

The Writing Prompt

Think of the things you worry about. What is one worry you’d like to throw away? What would you replace your worry with, and what would you—and possibly those around you— gain by not having that worry in your life?

Who is eligible?

You must be a classroom teacher—homeschool cooperative, resource centers, supervised writing groups, and schools outside the U.S. included—for your students to participate.

The selected essays will be featured on the YES! Magazine website and in our online education newsletter, reaching thousands of YES! readers, including over 30,000 teachers.

Teachers who submit essays will receive a free year of YES! magazine. (If you're a current subscriber, we'll add a year onto your subscription.) They will also be entered into a drawing to win a Kleen Kanteen and a dozen YES! posters for his or her classroom. See what you could win here!

Common Core State Standards:

This writing competition meets several Common Core State Standards for grades 6-12, including W.9-10.3 and W.9-10.4 for Writing, and RI.9-10.1 and RI.9-10.2 for Reading: Informational Text *

*This standard applies to other grade levels. “9-10” is used as an example.

What are the essay requirements?

Teachers must read and submit their students' essays. Remember, the limit is three essays per class period! Please take time to read your students' essays to ensure they have met essay requirements, including correct grammar. Unfortunately, we cannot accept essays sent independently by students.

In addition, we are evaluating essays for:

Grammar

Organization

Strong style and personal voice. We encourage writers to include personal examples and insights.

Originality and clarity of content and ideas

How do I submit the three best essays from my class?

You must be registered for the competition by January 14.

E-mail your three best student essays as word-processed document attachments (please no pdf or scanned documents) to writingcompetition@yesmagazine.org no later than February 18.